By Martin Popoff

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL LOST A GIANT AMONG MEN last year when Cortland, New York’s own Ronald James Padavona succumbed to stomach cancer May 16, 2010. After a life of fullness that touched people far beyond the unassailable musical legacy, Ronnie lived well into a realm of kindness, consideration and gallantry most people don’t expect from the most luminous of rock stars.

Luminous doesn’t begin to describe Ronnie James Dio’s contribution to rock, although, champion of the underdog that he was, I think Ronnie would be mischievously amused that not everyone got it, not everyone was aware, given that Ronnie defiantly operated within the realm of heavy metal, refusing to make gestures to crossing over that would have likely raised his profile ten-fold.

Female HEAVEN & HELL: Wendy Dio playing the angel to rock celebrity Bebe Buell's devil. (Photo courtesy of Chipster).

But the history of how Ronnie got to front Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and finally Heaven & Hell is astonishing in its color and in its breadth. In fact Ronnie began life as a bass player and then teen crooner in the late ‘50s, first with the Vegas Kings, then Ronnie And The Rumblers, then Ronnie And The Redcaps, then Ronnie Dio and the Prophets, showing up on a number of highly collectible 7” releases before the hippie movement set in with Ronnie re-emerging as front man for The Electric Elves.

The Electric Elves soon became Elf, who signed on with Purple Records/MGM after Elf had toured with Deep Purple, who found that they liked the band’s music and got along well with them, bassist Roger Glover soon to be credited as Elf’s producer. Elf was a big step up in Ronnie’s career, the band recording three albums, becoming known as a dependable, rootsy rock ‘n’ roll band distinguishable by their well above average singer, a fact of life noted by one Ritchie Blackmore, who was growing frustrated with the funk ‘n’ blues musical direction of Purple to the point of wanting to leave the band and get back to the mystical metal that was at that point still very much part of his being.

It is also at this point that Ronnie’s fame and fortune and musical legacy take flight, for Ritchie would take over all of Elf except their guitarist and form Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. A record later, the band name would be truncated to Rainbow and the immense classic known as “Rising” would be born.

It is also at this point that Ronnie meets Wendy Dio, wife and manager of Ronnie and his remarkable career until the end. As fate would have it, 35 years later it has fallen upon Wendy, along with her long loyal team at Niji Entertainment, to uphold Ronnie’s legacy, a task she has quickly embarked upon with characteristic enthusiasm and energy.

“I met Ronnie in 1975, at The Rainbow,” recalls Wendy. “And we were introduced by Ritchie Blackmore, who I’d known for several years; I knew him and his wife. They invited me to a party they were having that night. Ritchie had just formed Rainbow, and that’s how I was introduced to Ronnie. And Ritchie… Ronnie had the utmost respect for him as a musician. He learned a lot of things, what to do and what not to do, from Ritchie — I think they had a very good musical career together.”

Indeed they did, and through classics such as “A Light in the Black,” “Man on the Silver Mountain” and “Tarot Woman,” this was the first time we really got to see Ronnie’s furtive imagination at work, Dio creating netherworlds of wizards, castles, dragons and magic that would influence the literary end of heavy metal music from his first sessions with Ritchie forward to the present day.

“Ronnie had a very different way of writing,” reflects Wendy. “He didn’t want to write love songs; he wanted to write about people’s experiences, dreams, hopes, their hopes for the future. I thought they were great songs, and it’s something that can never be repeated again. They were just incredible songs – ‘Stargazer,’ ‘Gates of Babylon,’ ‘Catch the Rainbow’ – all such great songs. Ronnie read mostly science fiction and magical mystical books — read a book a day. And he always wrote his songs watching sports. He was very heavily influenced by the classics of Bach and Beethoven, and of course Deep Purple, obviously Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, and in terms of new bands that were coming out at that time, probably Aerosmith and later Iron Maiden.”

The rise of Maiden and the whole New Wave of British Heavy Metal corresponds with Ronnie taking a next major career move on up the ladder of metal significance. By this point, Ronnie had been instrumental in establishing Rainbow’s career, and certainly in cementing their fine reputation as it stands today, having been singer and lyricist for the aforementioned “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow” (1975), “Rising” (1976), “On Stage” (1977) and finally “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll” in 1978.

“He was fired by Ritchie, because he didn’t write more commercial songs,” says Wendy bluntly, Ritchie moving on to Graham Bonnet and finally Joe Lynn Turner, who indeed helped take Rainbow in a more radio-friendly direction, near unrecognizable from the stormy epic metal Ritchie and Ronnie had created together. “We’d been living in Connecticut and we decided to come back to Los Angeles where we knew more people. I knew Sharon Arden at the time, before she was Osbourne, and we were talking on the phone, and she invited Ronnie up to meet the Sabbath guys. Her father, Don Arden, was managing at the time.”

The icon at work: Ronnie James Dio onstage with Heaven & Hell in Oslo, Norway, June 4, 2009. (AP Photo/ Terje Bendiksby, Scanpix )

Shortly thereafter Arden handed the reigns over to Blue Oyster Cult manager Sandy Pearlman, and the new Black Sabbath — Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Ronnie — set about recording the “Heaven And Hell” album, which Ronnie, to his dying day, considered his greatest work, and specific within the record, the immense, anthemic, philosophical title track. The band encountered instant success, no small part due to the fact that there was basically no objection from the fan base to Ronnie taking over for Ozzy, Ronnie having built up a large measure of love and respect through his work with Rainbow. Indeed, as well, a new generation of fans spurred on by England’s spreading New Wave of British Heavy Metal were open-minded and ready for something fresh from one of the old guard. Ronnie-with-Sabbath was precisely the potent potion these punters were all too happy to order up.

“They were great friends,” muses Wendy, remembering those days. “And they were always incredible musicians — legends. I was very good friends with Gloria Butler, Geezer Butler’s wife, and those early days were a lot of fun. It was all new for us. For the first time in our lives, Ronnie and I had some money. We had no money in Rainbow. But we had suddenly got money, and it was nice, and we bought our first house and we enjoyed the life.”

“Musically, Ronnie really enjoyed working with Sabbath,” continues Wendy, “because now he could go darker, he could explore more. Him and Tony had a fantastic relationship writing-wise; and the rest of the band playing-wise. They were musical geniuses, all of them. Heaven And Hell was written and recorded down in Miami at the Bee Gees’ place, and that was a whole new experience for us. The songs, I thought were absolutely phenomenal. The band wasn’t sure about them until they came out, because they’re never really sure. When the band writes something, they’re never really sure (laughs) whereas people who are more on the outside can listen to them and go wow, that’s incredible. ‘Mob Rules,’ the song, was originally written for the movie Heavy Metal; we’d gone to England, where the version for the Heavy Metal movie was recorded in the Beatles’ house. That was an incredible adventure and those were happy times. I think the third album, the live album, was not happy; by that time, there were a lot of problems going on.”

The Maloik cemented: The gesture that Dio popularized becomes part of the Hollywood RockWalk in Los Angeles in 2006. (AP Photo/Branimir Kvartuc).

Asked whether Sabbath were concerned at the explosive success of Ozzy as a solo artist through those years, Wendy says, “No, no, I don’t think so; I think it’s apples and oranges — totally different bands. I mean, Black Sabbath with Ozzy was a great band; they were innovators of heavy metal. But Ozzy was a great showman. Ronnie was an incredible musician and singer. I don’t think it’s a true comparison.”

This version of Black Sabbath lasted for the aforementioned “Heaven And Hell” album (1980), “Mob Rules” (1981 — Vinny Appice replaced Bill Ward on drums) — and the double “Live Evil” (1982), before acrimony set in and Ronnie moved onto his own band, simply called Dio, Ronnie soon to create a couple more unanimously lauded classic heavy metal albums with yet a third act, namely 1983’s “Holy Diver” and 1984’s “The Last In Line.”

“The Dio band years was new for us, because Ronnie could do whatever he wanted now,” remembers Wendy, who started managing Ronnie’s career at this point, in 1983. “Although it was quite frightening too, because that was a big responsibility for him. And in the beginning, although we had some money, we didn’t have a lot of money. We actually took a big huge mortgage out, a second mortgage out on our home, to start the tour off with (laughs), and to make sure that we could have the same things that we had enjoyed in Sabbath. It was a new and exciting time — the band was on fire. We didn’t expect Holy Diver to jump out of the box the way it did, but it did, and it was incredible. It was an incredible ride.”

“It has to be ‘Holy Diver,’ of course, because of its success,” responds Wendy, asked as to her personal favorites from the long and distinguished Dio catalogue. “’Holy Diver’ was a great song, as was ‘Rainbow in the Dark’; ‘The Last in Line’ is one of my favorite songs as well, and then Sacred Heart was an incredible stage show, because in the ‘80s, that’s when it was getting more spectacular. We had an 18-foot fire-breathing dragon and we had the lasers – it was like Disneyland. As it went on into the ‘90s, all the record companies, all the big labels dropped everybody. I was now managing the band of course, and I had to go out and find independents, which I was terrified of, but I went over to Europe and talked to a lot of different people, and found out that actually independents were better than the majors (laughs). You have much more control and you don’t sell your soul to them. So those are some of my experiences. But we had a lot of fun; my whole time, my whole journey with Ronnie was a beautiful experience.”

And who were Wendy’s best friends from the Dio camp? “Well, Vinny Appice of course. Simon Wright was Ronnie’s really, really close friend. Rudy Sarzo was a doll. Craig Goldy is a good friend, Scott Warren, the keyboard player, has been with Ronnie for 17 years, even making it into Heaven & Hell. On ‘Lock Up the Wolves,’ we had the young new Rowan Robertson on guitar who was 17 years old. That was an experience but those were good times as well. Musically speaking, my least favorite album was ‘Angry Machines,’ because I felt that Ronnie had taken a turn that he was being pushed into, to become more industrial. His fans didn’t like it that much, and I’m glad he decided to change and go back to the usual way of writing.”

In 1992, Ronnie embarked upon his second of three collaborations with the Sabbath guys, a partnership that did not last long, merely one album, the controversial Mack-produced “Dehumanizer.” Dio had remained a big draw through 1985’s “Sacred Heart” and 1987’s “Dream Evil,” but the band had begun to run out of gas with 1990’s “Lock Up The Wolves.”

“A lot of negotiations,” is how Wendy remembers the Dehumanizer era. “A lot of legalities, a lot of negotiations, a lot of mistrust of everybody. I think it just kind of happened. It’s a great album — I think it’s the most overlooked album of the Sabbath albums with Ronnie on them. But it was mistrust from everyone because of what had gone down before, the breakup, the first time.”

Post-Dehumanizer, in addition to assorted live releases and compilations, Dio produced fully five more studio albums, “Strange Highways” (1994), the aforementioned “Angry Machines” (1996), “Magica” (2000), “Killing The Dragon” (2002) and “Master Of The Moon” (2004), before setting upon what was to be his final — and triumphant — music journey, a third, and by all accounts joyous, reunion with the Sabbath guys, this time under a new name, Heaven & Hell.

“Tony’s management called me originally to ask Ronnie if he would work together with Tony on one of Tony’s solo albums,” explains Wendy, on how the ball got rolling. “We were quite happy with the Dio situation and it didn’t come to pass. And then they called again, talking about a situation of possibly getting together Tony and Ronnie and calling it something else. At that point, it wasn’t a Black Sabbath Heaven & Hell situation and still nothing came to pass. And then the record company called and said they were going to put out Black Sabbath – The Dio Years, and was there any unwritten material in the vault anywhere? And I said no, there isn’t. And at that point Ronnie goes, ‘Well, then maybe we should write something.’ So it was only going to be a one-off, and Ronnie and Tony got together and they were going to write two songs but ended up writing three songs, and then at that point, we were talking with Gloria Butler and Geezer, and then Bill came into the situation, but it didn’t work out with Bill. He didn’t want to tour, and I don’t know what — musical problems. And then I called Vinny, and then Vinny came back into the fold.”

Heaven & Hell exploded out of the gates. Not only were there exhaustive world tours and festival dates, but the band saw the release of the aforementioned compilation, with three new tracks, a new live album, an archival live album, a box set, and the penultimate, a new studio album in 2009 called “The Devil You Know.” And now after Ronnie’s tragic demise, there’s been a live CD and DVD set called “Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell – Live in Europe.” All told, it’s a stunning amount of output for four aging warhorses, each with their own ailments, the man with the golden voice stricken with the worst, a cancer that, unbeknownst to him, he was already fighting, in order to the bring the show to his adoring throngs night after night.

As we’ve discussed, Wendy is vowing to make sure Ronnie’s huge legacy will not soon be forgotten. First up is the already issued gorgeous digipak live archival Dio album entitled “Dio At Donington UK: Live 1983 & 1987.” “This is something that Ronnie and I wanted to do,” explains Wendy. “We wanted to form our own label, and we had started to do this before Ronnie got sick. We had gone through different tapes, and we said well this sounds pretty good, and it was a BBC recording of ‘83 and ‘87. And so he took it down to Wyn Davis, his engineer, who does his masters and stuff, and so they remastered it. Ronnie was very happy with it, and I had called BBC for permission, as you have to, as it was the original tapes. It wasn’t bootleg or anything — it was original tapes from BBC. And so then Ronnie got sick, and we put it on hold. But I wanted it to come out because I knew it was something that was dear to Ronnie’s heart. He was actually effectively the producer on it, and unfortunately he didn’t see the finished package.”

Even more intriguing to Ronnie’s fans will be the long-rumored autobiography that Ronnie had been working on for years. Explains Wendy, “Ronnie had written — was writing — a book, right up until a couple of days before he passed, an autobiography, and he finished about three-quarters of it. What he would do is handwrite everything and then he would send it over to me and my assistant would type it up. That’s how we worked. So we read chapter by chapter, until the last months, of course. And I had already gotten an agent for him. So they want me to finish it, and I will finish it, and it will come out in 2012. I haven’t actually gone back and read the last part, because it’s too soon for me to do that ­— the memories are too precious. But I will do it.”

Beyond the book, which undoubtedly will prove to be Ronnie’s most personal final gift to his fans, there promises to be more music issued of an archival nature. Until then, there is no better way to thank Ronnie for what he’s given us than to make a donation to Ronnie’s Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, which can be found at the official Dio site, www.ronniejamesdio.com.

EARLY RONNIE:

These versions of an early Dio 7″ single were recorded by the band Ronnie Dio & The Prophets in the early 1960s, and are popular with collectors:

1. “Mr. Misery”/ “Our Year” (Swan) 4165, 1963
Vinyl is valued at $80, as near mint. White label promo releases tend to be a bit higher value at auction.

2. “Che Tristezza Senza TE”(Mr. Misery)/”Our Year” (Derby) DB 5084, 1963
Sold for $1225 in 2009
An Italian pressing from the original recording on Swan Records. “Mr. Misery” sung in Italian, “Our Year” sung in English.

3. “Mr. Misery”/ “Our Year” (Stateside) 45-ESS.21, 1964
Sold for $499 in 2008 [shown above]
Ronnie Dio and The Prophets had nine singles and, reportedly this “Made in India” 45 is one of only three copies known to exist.

Sources: popsike and GM Record Database

Save on these related interests:
The latest quote book ala Ozzy: “The Wit and Wisdom of Ozzy Osbourne”

The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal by Daniel Bukszpan, Daniel Buhszpan and Ronnie James Dio”

By Todd Whitesel

Music collectors and audiophiles have long looked to the Land of the Rising Sun for hard-to-find LPs, CDs and exotic stereo gear that was unavailable elsewhere. Some record collectors are obsessed with Japanese pressings, seeking them out for the quality of the vinyl and the cool extras that we don’t get with our North American platters, such as the coveted OBI strip and perhaps a poster or lyrics printed in the beautiful but complicated Japanese script. For the new year, I’ll be “going Japanese” to satisfy my craving for some long-overdue high-resolution reissues.

I’ve lamented the near halt in production of rock and jazz SACDs over the last couple years. It seems the record labels committed to SACD are concentrating almost solely on classical music. I love classical music and have put together a nice collection of high-resolution discs as such, but there are countless other non-classical albums that I wish would find their home on SACD. I can’t imagine going back to a non-SACD disc of Bob Dylan’s “Blood On The Tracks” — listen to “If You See Her, Say Hello” in 5.1 surround and you’ll know what I mean. Incidentally, that SACD is now out of print and still-sealed copies can go for $50 and up — and it’s worth it. Now, and in the coming weeks, several truly classic albums are being reissued on SACD by Universal Japan. Each is a limited edition and likely to become very collectible, very soon. Get ’em now before they’re gone!

1. Stevie Wonder, “Songs In The Key Of Life” — From 1972 up to the release of “Songs In The Key Of Life” found Stevie Wonder on a path of unbridled creativity. In fact, two LPs weren’t enough to contain all the material Wonder wanted to put on “Songs,” so a four-song EP was included in the package. All this after the triumphs of “Music Of My Mind,” “Talking Book,” “Innervisions” and “Fulfillingness’ First Finale!” I can’t remember a song that got more radio play in the 1970s than “Sir Duke,” Wonder’s tribute to the great Duke Ellington. It’s bound to sound even better here.

2. Asia, “Asia” — The 1982 debut of Asia brought together four of progressive rock’s biggest names — bassist/vocalist John Wetton, guitarist Steve Howe, keyboardist Geoff Downes and drummer Carl Palmer — into the much-maligned “supergroup” arena. The surprise, though, was that instead of 10-minute jams and ventures into the cosmos, Asia delivered a set of nine radio-friendly songs, none of which broached six minutes. The album, with its classic Roger Dean artwork, was a huge success and remains the group’s finest effort.

3. Rainbow, “Long Live Rock ‘ N’ Roll” — Ritchie Blackmore and the vocalists he’s worked with have always been something of an oil-and-water mixture, never really settling down for long. Rainbow fans can argue whether Graham Bonnett had better pipes than Joe Lynn Turner, but we wouldn’t be talking for long if it wasn’t for Ronnie James Dio and his inimitable delivery on records such as “Rising” and 1978’s “Long Live Rock ’N’ Roll.” I can’t wait to revisit the great title track on SACD.

4. Kiss, Destroyer — I would never associate Kiss with audiophile-quality recordings, but I love the band’s early ’70s output, and I can’t imagine an album that was more influential or popular at its time than “Destroyer.” Although the record contains the even-for-Kiss overblown “Great Expectations,” the foursome never hit harder than with cuts such as “Detroit Rock City” and “God Of Thunder.” I welcome this reissue and am very curious to hear the “hottest band in the world” in high-res.

5. Gentle Giant, Octopus – Wow! Gentle Giant on SACD? If any band deserves such treatment, it’s Gentle Giant. I’ve spent the last couple months digging into the Giant’s complete back catalog and have come away with a newfound respect that borders on awe. Octopus is probably the first album I’d recommend to those wanting to investigate this unique band, and it features everything from the tricky time signatures and arrangements of tunes like “Advent Of Panurge” to the graceful beauty of “Think Of Me With Kindness.” And, yes, this features the original Roger Dean cover art with the cephalopod rising from the waters instead of the original reissue, where the mighty mollusk is trapped inside a jar. Who would do such a thing?

6. Fairport Convention, “Liege & Lief” — This is British folk-rock at its best. Sandy Denny’s vocals are unmatched and for my money this record betters Unhalfbricking all around. “Matty Groves” remains the measuring stick.

7. Caravan, “In The Land Of Grey And Pink” — If the “Canterbury Sound” could be distilled into one album, this would be it. From the humorous “Golf Girl” and the hippie-esque title track to the sprawling “Nine Feet Underground,” this is essential British prog.

8. Wishbone Ash, “Argus” — I already have three copies of this often-overlooked classic. The original recording is pretty good, but I’m guessing the sparkle and energy of Andy Powell and Ted Turner’s guitar playing will sound even better this time around. “Time was” when I couldn’t get this LP on SACD and I was sad (inside lyrical joke to those who know the tune).

9. The Rolling Stones, “Beggars Banquet” — Man did I miss the boat in 2002, when ABKCO reissued a set of early Stones’ classics on SACD. “Beggars Banquet,” along with “Let It Bleed,” were two that I should have jumped on immediately. To quote Pete Townshend, I won’t get fooled again.

10. Free, “Fire & Water” — I would buy this just to hear “Mr. Big” in high-resolution. For my money, no band has wrapped more attitude around a riff than Free on that track. Paul Kossoff erects a fortress from a three-note phrase as Andy Fraser runs through the grounds with his endlessly imaginative and looping bass lines. Paul Rodgers struts like a peacock finally freed from prison. Meat and potatoes rock was never tastier.

Erik Norlander. Photo by Neal Hamilton

By Michael Popke

Keyboardist/producer Erik Norlander, perhaps best known for his band (Rocket Scientists) and his wife (vocalist Lana Lane), also plays in Asia Featuring John Payne. He has collaborated with science-fiction writer Kevin J. Anderson for a project called Roswell Six and toured or recorded with — among others — Joe Lynn Turner, James LaBrie, Glenn Hughes, Tony Franklin and Vinny Appice. So it’s no surprise that Norlander’s musical tastes are decidedly “progressive.”

Electric Light Orchestra: “Time”
This album introduced me to the idea of an album production combining synthesizers with pianos, a string section and a rock band, and then mixing phase shifters, echoes and reverb machines as a dominant force in the music. Although I don’t think this was much of a commercial hit, I consider this to be Jeff Lynne’s finest production.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer: “Pictures At An Exhibition”
This was my introduction to the idea of “lead keyboards” in a rock band. What an amazing live album, with all the ephemeral aspects of a great live show, including even some out-of-tune (and out-of-control) modular Moog bits. So much great energy and personality from all three musicians.

Yes: “Tales from Topographic Oceans”
I loved the albums of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze and Kitaro growing up, but this was the first ROCK album that demonstrated the concept of “unhurried” music: two LPs, one song per side. They’re taking their time with each piece, and it’s brilliant. This album apparently drove Rick Wakeman out of the band. Too bad, because I think this is Yes at their peak.

Rainbow: “Difficult to Cure”
Don Airey’s keyboard work in a hard-rock/heavy-metal setting was both inventive and masterful. His CS-80 solo on “Spotlight Kid” still ranks as one of my favorite keyboard moments. Joe Lynn Turner, following in the footsteps of previous Blackmore vocalists Ian Gillan, David Coverdale and Ronnie James Dio, brought a more-modern sound to the band and kept all of the fire, energy and fury from the previous vocalists. Rondinelli, Glover and Blackmore’s performances are fantastic also, but you already knew that.

Supertramp: “Crime of the Century”
Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” is an amazing album, but I think the award for “Audiophile Production of the ’70s” must go to “Crime of the Century.” Ken Scott’s production is clean and crisp in a way that sounds 20 years ahead of its time while still retaining the warmth and mood of a ’70s big-budget analog recording. Check out the multi-tracked pianos and electric pianos.

Rush: “A Farewell to Kings”
The standout album for the power trio of my generation. There was, of course, Cream about 10 years earlier. But Rush added some more modern elements, such as synthesizers, bass pedals and orchestral percussion, along with writing some very compelling long-form songs that do not come off as indulgent — but rather the right length for what they had to say.

UK: “Danger Money”
The first UK album was amazing, too, but “Danger Money” took the best of the band and condensed it into a power trio with new powerhouse drummer Terry Bozzio — an incredible prog drummer who apparently doesn’t consider himself “prog.” Eddie Jobson’s keyboard and violin work are astounding. The music is progressive, but not at the expense of great, memorable songwriting.

Blue Oyster Cult: “Secret Treaties”
Space rock done well! The band clearly had lots of classic-rock influences, from Clapton to Black Sabbath. But the science fiction element takes the music to another place. It’s no wonder they had so many successful collaborations with legendary sci-fi writer Michael Moorcock (also of Hawkwind!) on future albums.

Deep Purple: “Machine Head”
Rock historians will go back further than this, but I consider Machine Head to be the first proper heavy-metal album. Grinding Hammond organ with wide vibrato blues guitar, kinetic, figure-laden drumming with purposefully heavy-placed bass grooves create the formula for hundreds (thousands?) of albums to follow. Ian Gillan’s dramatic, wide vibrato vocals are the perfect crown to a royal rock classic.

The Alan Parsons Project: “I Robot”
A phenomenal production, again with skillful use of phase shifters and reverb effects, where keyboards and synthesizers mingle seamlessly with rock-band instruments and a real orchestra. Great and varied vocals, great songs, and a concept album without being too specific or heavy handed.
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Message from Wendy Dio yesterday:

“Today my heart is broken, Ronnie passed away at 7:45am 16th May. Many, many friends and family were able to say their private good-byes before he peacefully passed away. Ronnie knew how much he was loved by all. We so appreciate the love and support that you have all given us. Please give us a few days of privacy to deal with this terrible loss. Please know he loved you all and his music will live on forever.”

Ronnie James Dio began his career with the hard rock bands Elf and Rainbow. In 1979, after leaving Rainbow, Dio replaced original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne in the pioneering UK heavy metal band Black Sabbath.

Dio formed his eponymous solo project in 1982, scoring a big hit and popular MTV video with “Rainbow in the Dark.”  The veteran rocker returned to Black Sabbath temporarily in 1992 to record the album “Dehumanizer.”

In 2006, he and his former Sabbath bandmates recorded an album and toured under the moniker Heaven and Hell, also the title of Black Sabbath’s first album with Dio.  In 2009 Ronnie James Dio released an album entitled “Heaven and Hell” which garnered much critical success.

Wendy Dio announced Dio’s stomach cancer diagnosis in November 2009.

You can leave your condolences on Dio’s official Facebook page